Thursday:
Left for Pitt at 1:00. Pretty uneventful trip down. Got there about 5 after fighting thru construction traffic. Set up the camper, went in to the con room, met with everyone, and started setting up the booth. I drop off Kel's MFE Preview comics to Al, and meet his friend Ed[/url], who was one hell of a nice guy! Great story about some old couple stealing his food too!
About 8:30 Mike (Space Monkey) and his girlfriend showed up. They treated me to dinner at a great Chinese buffet. We then hit the bar for a bit, and after a bit, retired to the motorhome to watch DVD's and get some sleep. Mike says I'm a cuddler!
Friday:
Mike and I get up and finish setting up the booth. Friday is a slow day, but I make the rounds, talking to Billy Tucci, Beau Smith, Buzz, and a bunch of other pros. Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Joe Jusko are no-shows, because of a trip to Portugal. Bummer! Tucci tells me he's talking to Dark Horse about publishing Shi. Beau is now VP of Sales & Marketing for IDW (30 Days of Night, CSI). Also I meet Steve Conley of Comicon.com for the first time.
All in all Friday was a slow day, with Mike's Space Monkey gang showing up later on, as well as my wife Krystal. Mike's newest writing partner, Kristin Blank, will be the hit of the con, I say! Great personality, really into pushing her work, and a very good looking girl with a lot of writing talent! Also Mike's artistic partner Beau Schemery is one cool guy! Leather, boots, and a kilt! And that hair!!! And let's not forget EXTREMELY talented! Krystal was jealous! Beau brought along a friend of his (James) who was pretty funny. More on him later!
Krystal and I take Kristin to the CBLDF Quick Sketch. That's where they get 5-8 artists in a room with giant sketch pads, and let them draw and tell stories for an hour. You can sit and listen, and purchase tickets ($1.00 each) for a chance to win the art being done. The artists were Patrick Block (Disney), Tommy Castillo (Detective Comics), Gene Gonzales, Terry Moore, and Josh Blaylock. Krystal and I win a Gene Gonzales Tigra] and a Tommy Castillo Zombie. NIIICE!!!!
I also walked around introducing Kristin to various people, and taking her picture with some of the Playboy bunnies and assorted models. Heyshe asked me too!
The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful. Friday's are usually slow, and more a "meet & greet" day for everyone. Krystal and I head out to the motorhome to get ready for dinner with the Space Monkey Crew.
Dinner at Chi-Chi's was..different! Between Beau's friend taking pictures of EVERYTHING (and even getting the manager to take a pic of all of us!) and the hilarious banter, it's a wonder I even got to eat. Then we harass the waiter into getting Beau's friend a sombrero, which we then promptly walked out with! Needless to say it was a great time, and I'm sure the staff couldn't wait until we left!
We then head back to the con for Casino Night. And again, the Space Monkey Crew livened that up! I played Blackjack all night, and broke even, while Krystal bet the horse races and also played Blackjack (at a different table). The dealer at mine seemed smitten with Kristin, and even asked if we were all going to the bar afterwards. Mike and Beau's friend were having a blast, and the jokes, comments, banter, and insults were flying all night! When it came time to draw for prizes, only Krys and I won from the Space Monkey group, getting the soccer chant (OleOle Ole Ole) and hollers. And then there was Steve. This poor guy was stuck at the table with the SMG (Space Monkey Group) and he won a bunch of prizes. Whenever he got up to get them, all you heard was a very loud "STEEEEEVEEEE" yell from them. Hilarious!!!
Krys and I won an airbrushed T-shirt (sez "Gotta Have My Comics"), and two statuesPoison Elves Porcelain Statue (with a $98 price tag on it) and an Army of Darkness Ash Statue (selling on the floor for $60). Funny thing is, I never looked at the prizes when we came in. I sat and started playing, then Krystal came over and said "They's got an Ash figure up!" I said, "Cool! You mean Ash from Joe and Jimmy?" She said, "No...Ash!" to which I then replied, "Oh, like Pikachu's Ash.' She was slightly annoyed and amused, finally saying, "No, like the movie!" It was then I narrowed the Ash's down and said "Bruce Campbell Ash?!?" Stupid me! Well, after looking at it, I reeeealy wanted it! And thankfully, I won it!
Then it was off to the bar for a bit. Mike is still new to the whole bar scene, and was quite star-struck, especially when Buzz came over to talk, and bought a round. Not a bad night at the bar, but we decided to see if the penthouse was open. We go up, and the guy at the door says we need to show him our yellow and black badges that were given to us. Mike still had his pro badge, and the guy said for us to just go in anyway, after checking our driver's licenses. Franco Aureliani and maybe three other guys were there, and that was it. We didn't check the poker room, but decided to just crash there, since it's free booze! As we're sitting, this tall guy with a wool lined jacket steps in, and zero's in on Kristin! We all noticed the guy do it too! His name was Scott, and was talking mostly to her all night. After a bit, they closed that room, so we headed to the Poker Room for a bit. Scott and Kristin went downstairs (When I asked Kristin on Saturday where she went, I joked that I thought she and Scott hooked up. They didn't.) and Mike, Russ, Beau, and I went in and saw two tables, with Mike Turner, Michael George, and a few other notables playing. We sat off the side and talked. Then Adam and Rand of Ookla the Mok showed up, and Adam sat with us talking music, comics, and comic movies. He said they're trying to work a deal with VH-1 for a show, and commented that my interview with them was the second best they ever did, after the one they basically scripted themselves for a radio show. Rand came over and talked for a bit, then about 2:30 AM I called it a night. Krystal went to bed after the bar, as she was tired.
Saturday
Woke up at 9, ate breakfast, went to Kinko's and then into the con! The SMG was already set and selling books! Again, just a day of shmoozing, getting stuff signed, and seeing the sights. I talked to Chris Yambar about the Trailerpark of Terror book, and he said he has a 9 page story all done, just waiting for a home. He says he would love for us to print it for him! The TpoT book, and my IS strips seem to be a hit with the people I talked to (pros, retailers, and fans) and Beau Smith gave me the info for talking to Flint Henry for cover art, and Buzz expressed interest in also doing some covers! There were a few other creators I talked to who expressed interest, but I won't speculate just yet and name names until I know for sure they really want to do it.
I walked by Michael Turner's Aspen booth, and saw him sitting there playing a video game, while a line of fans stood waiting. I went back to Mike and said "If that isn't an IS strip, I don't know what is!" I later found out he was playing fans for charity! Pretty cool deal! And this brings me to Turner story #1.
When I went to Kinko's, I made a print of IS #13 (with Dudley art) so I could show it to Michael Turner. I mean, he is the person being parodied! He read it and laughed out loud! He said he gets the "what an ego" a lot, and doesn't know why. We talked of fans and how these things get started, and he signed the print for me! I've met Mike a few times, but never really talked to him like this. He was pretty cool, and said when I was leaving, "If you use that character again, make sure you make me look good!"
Krystal and I walked around, and noticed many of the listed guests weren't there. Also the lack of free promo goodies was amazing. We usually haul out a huge trove of goodies, but there was nothing.
We then split, as I went to tape the Ookla the Mok concert, and she went to the CBLDF Quick Sketch. After the show, I was asked by one audience member, and thne Rand of the band, if I could send them a copy of the tape! As always, another great Ookla show, with them doing a bunch of songs of their new album (hopefully shipping this week!). Krystal had no luck at the "standing room only- filled even in the hall" panel, that included Adam Hughes, Joe Linsner, Angel Medina, and a bunch more.
We walked around a bit more, and later bought some art of a guy that we met a few years ago, and have been looking for ever since!
We then decided to call it a day, and went to Boston Market for some food. We ate at the motorhome, and then hit the Make-A-Wish Charity Auction. A lot of great art was going for dirt cheap prices. But there was nothing there that really caught our eye, that we could afford. Some of the cool items was a severed head from Tom Savini, a two-page Powers spread, some great airbrushed pieces by Monte Moore as well as some terrific Patrick Block Paintings. But Krystal did bid and win one item, a painting called Cyber Cycle by Kevin Rasel. She said it caught her eye, and she liked it, so she bid. It is pretty cool I think as well!
Krystal the retired for the night, and I hung out until 10, when I then headed to the bar. I was planning on popping in for a few minutes, then heading to bed, as I didn't want to drink and be hung over for the Contest Panel we were doing at 11 Sunday morning! Wellas I was walking, we get into Turner story #2!
Mike Turner is hanging out with some people at the bar entrance, and says as I pass by, "Glenn, right?" I say yes and he asks if I'm following him, and that he's going to the bathroom if I want to come with (joking about the IS strip plot). We laugh, and talk briefly, when he totally stuns me by saying "I want you to come and play some pool with me." COOOL!!! So we head in, and plunk our money on the table, and talk. Buzz, Tucci, and a few other come over as well, and Mike is hanging on me, and treating me like an old friend. Again, I'm totally stunned, and also feeling a bit fanboyish! I take a walk over to talk to Al and Ed, and get flagged down by Jason Yungbluth, who does a terrificly sick, twisted, and funny comic called "Deep Fried". We had talked earlier in the day about his book, and even got a great picture, as he was dressed as his character "Weapon Brown". He intorduces me to Chris Staros, and asks me to tell Chris why I like Deep Fried. I tell him, we chat, and as I'm leaving, Jason tells me to stop by his booth, and whatever I want on the table is mine! COOOL!!! (I got a complete Deep Fried w/CD set for Mike!). I then sit and talk business with Chris Watkins of BorderWalker.com. I hook up with my friend Jay, and we then start to play pool. First, I'm partnered with Turner, who is one hell of a pool player. I suck, because I'm not drinking! But we win, and then Jay and I play Mike and his buddy. I have three left on the table, run two of them with some difficult shots (helped by Jay), and then miss an easy long shot. Turner sinks the 8, and tells me to drop by his booth Sunday for him to doodle something on a book I got for my friend.
**My buddy Paul is a huge Turner fan, even naming his daughter Aspen, after the Fathom character. Mike did a great Dragon sketch on the cover of the Pitt Exclusive book I picked up for Paul.**
After playing pool, Al, Ed, and the SMG (minus Mike, who's sick) is headed to the penthouse. I get talked into going up, and again, we get carded. But this time, they won't let Ed and my friend Jay and his wife in. I go in to scarf the badges from Kristin and Beau for Jay and his wife, when they all come walking in. The guy said "Awjust go on in!" So we sat and talked, and took a picture of Jay's wife, asleep in all the noise, smoke, and confusion. The coolest thing was watching Monte Moore drawing pictures on napkins and leaving them lay around, and watching Tommy Castillo doing drawing with Hooters Chicken wings, cigarette butts/ashes, and other assorted trash...and they looked GREAT!!!
I left about 12:30, watched some of the great "Scenes From the Small Press-Mainstream Raw" DVD by Rich Henn (I highly recommend this, as it has great interviews with Quesada, Wagner, Doran, and Millerincluding Frank's Harvey speech ripping up Wizard!).
HeyI got a panel to do on Sunday!
Sunday
Get up early, and start setting up the huge showroom for the Contest Panel. I go talk to Beau Smith, Billy Tucci, Ookla the Mok, and Scott Crawford (who dresses in his professionally made superhero costumes) to remind them they promised to stop by and ask some questions. I get back to the showroom and it's 15 minutes until the start, and there are already people waiting to start!!! I was worried we would only get less then 10 since it's new, and on a slow daybut it was around 25 or so people all total!
The Contest Panel was terrific!!! I was losing my voice, and we had a slow start, but Mike and I (especially Mike, who was TERRIFIC!!!!) finally hit our stride and had everyone laughing, clapping, and some complaining they hadn't gotten picked to play! We had contestants act out characters, sound effects, and do other crazy things. Chris of BorderWalker had to pose as Vampirella from any of her covers. One guy hulked out, even tearing his shirt off! And Wolverine asked two rounds of questions!!! Then we had a question about the comic Wynonna Earp, and afterwards, I commented on the book, asking who actually read that book, and what was the writer thinking?! Beau Smith stormed the stage, and proceeded to pound on me, breaking a cup of popcorn over my head (he wrote the book!). It was pretty funny, as he tried to drag me off the stage to have "Prison Sex" with me! The crowd loved it! And they also loved the runner-up prizes! We gave away Spam, Rice-A-Roni, Shake & Bake, Coca Cola, and other great old-time game show prizesas well as comic packages like The John Byrne Sampler, a Prophet TPB ("The landmark series that rocketed Steven Platt to fame!") and The Rob Liefeld Experience! It seemed everyone had a great time, and later that day, many of the people there stopped by the booth or stopped me on the floor to thank us for doing it, and making it the highlight of the con! Ohand the George family are giving us TWO HOURS next year, as well as scheduling it for Saturday, the busiest day of the con (meaning possibly more people showing up!).
Krys and I hit the Quick Sketch, and won two more pieces! One of her favorite fantasy artists, Ed Beard, was there, and he did a dragon piece Krystal really wanted. Also drawing were Linsner, David Mack, Andy Lee, and others. Well, Krys won the Ed Beard dragon and I won a David Mack Sandman!!!
We then bought a beautiful art print I had my eye on, and I got to talk to Chuck Rozianski of Mile High Comics. Pretty cool guy! We talked to Jim Balent and Holly Golightly with Krystal buying some of the perfume they were selling. Got some more stuff signed and took a great pic of Yambar and Bill Morrison as well.
Then it was wrapping things up at the booth, and saying farewells to friends for another year. It was great meeting Russ again, and his lovely wife and daughters, as well as Al, Ed, Chris, Beau, Kristin, and the many small press people I got to meet this year!
I also got to meet a member of the JoeQueasada.com board who plays my contests there every month (he goes by 'loiosh") which was pretty cool!
And as I was taking things out to the motorhome, Krystal wins a Jar-Jar Binks basket sponsored by the 501st Galactic Legion, a fanclub that dresses as as stormtroopers and such every year!
Another Pitt-Con is in the books, with next years already shaping up to be a great time! And an uneventful ride home too!
I got some great video footage and if anyone is interested, drop me a line! I got to meet some great new people, and enjoy the company of some great friends! And as always, I'm already counting the days until Pitt-Con '04!!!!!!!!!
